Pilot Flying J Transactions

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

On pricing, we do price competitively with every market we're in. Fuel inventory is turned in our facilities much quicker than many smaller operations. With that, it means we purchase fuel more frequently and can incur higher costs due to the volatility of the market. I completely understand decisions to fuel elsewhere, but I can tell you we do offer something our competitors don't specifically for RV customers. Unlimited gas and diesel discounts on all lanes, bulk propane, dump stations, a network of over 550 locations in North America, about 150 locations with dedicated free overnight RV parking and special exclusive offers such as the coffee club (buy 5 hot beverages and the 6th is free) and other coupons available on your online account at www.frequentfueleradvantage.com.

If you ever have any suggestions on how we can improve our RV offering, please let me know.

Contact me anytime. Thank you!

[johnfv2]

Lynsay,

You might want to travel a bit down the road from any Pilot or Flying J and check on the competitors pricing which of late is pretty much at a lesser price than you. As as I said before, we travel all over the United States and Canada, pilot in the states is always priced higher. I say this not as a bitching session but as input from an RVer that travels all year long. I personally liked what Flying J was offering us as RVers. Not all the stations were up to snuff as being RV friendly. We could count on being able to get a good meal and whatever was needed on the trip without having to worry about the fuel price being .10 upwards down the road. We would like to have our old Flying J's back, which can never happen. Also charging for dumping doesn't make any new friends, and I've never used their dumps.

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

The dumping fees were put into place before the merger when Flying J had filed for Chapter 11, but we do try to offset that cost by giving a $5 discount on dumps with your RV loyalty card. In all honesty, does that sound like a reasonable charge? I know that doesn't make up for everything, including wanting the old Flying J's back, but we really do want to make your experience as much as it used to be with Flying J - who you grew to know and be able to count on. Also, have you tried the new hot delis, coffee bar, pizza or Denny's in many of the Flying J's? I'm just curious what you all think of them. Thank you for your input. I really do appreciate it!

[bshepard]

I also want to thank Lynsay for her comments.

I just completed a trip from CA to KY. The problems I see are the downlevel pumps being used and the requirement to go inside. The clerks are helping truckers with paperwork and other customers. It can sometimes take 15 min. just to get to the clerk. Fix your pumps like the ones at exit 2 on Route 65 in KY. They take the cards however they weren't giving the discount.

I didn't realize the loyality cards had to be registered. I've had mine for years and my wife was just given hers on this trip. That might explain why we weren't given the discount. I assumed just having the card gave you the discount. It appears the public also needs to be educated about these cards.

The other problem I've found is having the LP tank in the same line as the gas pumped can really slow things down. I set in line for over 20 min. waiting for someone to come out and fill the RV tank of the previous customer before I could get to the gas pumps.

I hope Pilot can resolve the problems memtioned in this forum, because giving a good place to fill these big rigs up is very important.

[Guest BillAdams]

Linsay,

While it makes no difference at this point, I wanted you to know that I think the change to Denny's restaurants was a terrible choice. I know it relieves you of that responsibility but the food was so good at the Flying J restaurants that I always tired to time our fuel stops at meal time. I would avoid a Denny's at all costs unless I am absolutely desperate and there is simply no other choice (like eating the green pizza in the fridge).

The change from Flying J to Pilot/Flying J is just so dramatic as to make all the reasons I stopped at a Flying J moot. We travel full time and we have been using the Flying J's across the Country for over 10 years. Nearly every fuel stop was done at "the J".

Thus far this year I believe we have only stopped there a few times. We want the old Flying J back and you seem to indicate that this is not going to happen. That will be a great loss for both of us.

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

Linsay,

While it makes no difference at this point, I wanted you to know that I think the change to Denny's restaurants was a terrible choice. I know it relieves you of that responsibility but the food was so good at the Flying J restaurants that I always tired to time our fuel stops at meal time. I would avoid a Denny's at all costs unless I am absolutely desperate and there is simply no other choice (like eating the green pizza in the fridge).

The change from Flying J to Pilot/Flying J is just so dramatic as to make all the reasons I stopped at a Flying J moot. We travel full time and we have been using the Flying J's across the Country for over 10 years. Nearly every fuel stop was done at "the J".

Thus far this year I believe we have only stopped there a few times. We want the old Flying J back and you seem to indicate that this is not going to happen. That will be a great loss for both of us.

Hey Bill - I actually would like to know specifically what you loved about the old Flying J. In knowing what it is you loved and want back, maybe we can change things. That's what I'm here for. To hear from you all and take back your thoughts to Pilot Flying J.

[NavyDad89]

Hey Bill - I actually would like to know specifically what you loved about the old Flying J. In knowing what it is you loved and want back, maybe we can change things. That's what I'm here for. To hear from you all and take back your thoughts to Pilot Flying J.

Lynsay, we used the Flying-J for almost all our fuel while we were full timers. A stop around mealtime, fuel up, fill propane when needed, and park conveniently out of the traffic flow in the RV slots while we enjoyed a great meal in the restaurant while getting a discount on fuel and even gasoline for the car. Those are the things that kept us coming regularly. At least wherever a Flying-J was close to our intended route. Now, we are no longer full time RV'ers so the occasional trip with the RV has similar driving day length and miles but with our new smaller gas powered RV, it is far too complicated to jump through the hoops included with reauthorizing our FJ RV card to overcome your companies price disadvantage. We never used the free dump so charging for it now isn't that big a deal and we never used your overnight parking either so I see no advantage to my loyalty to Flying-J/Pilot. If we want to eat deli style meals, we can go to almost any convenience store or eat in the RV. We no longer frequent Denny's franchises since they seemed to downgrade their service and quality a few years ago, at least in their restaurants we encountered.

[TonyB]

Hi Lynsay,

I just looked up the new travel guide for Pilot Flying J and I am disappointed. It no longer shows which facilities are RV friendly, such as where there are RV lanes, propane or a dump station and/or RV parking.

Is this information available on line somewhere?

Thanks for any information.

Bounder 32W / Durango

[rossboyer]

At least for breakfast, I like the Dennys.

But price of Pilot fuel compared to nearby other brands offsets the cash price using your credit card + 2 or 3 cents discount. I have found that I can usually get into some shopping center fuel stops with my coach, because diesel is usually on the outside lane and the price is as much as 17 cents less per gal.

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

Hi Lynsay,

I just looked up the new travel guide for Pilot Flying J and I am disappointed. It no longer shows which facilities are RV friendly, such as where there are RV lanes, propane or a dump station and/or RV parking.

Is this information available on line somewhere?

Thanks for any information.

Bounder 32W / Durango

Hey Tony - Yes, we do have an RV specific travel guide. You can download it here: http://pilotflyingj.com/rv-home under the "NOW AVAILABLE" header. It shows you all of the amenities you mentioned above. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!

[Guest BillAdams]

Hey Bill - I actually would like to know specifically what you loved about the old Flying J. In knowing what it is you loved and want back, maybe we can change things. That's what I'm here for. To hear from you all and take back your thoughts to Pilot Flying J.

The number 1 and 2 things that made us Flying J customers were the convenience and the pricing. We could pull into the fuel lane, swipe our FJ card, swipe our CC and fuel (only a few States with different tax rules required us to go inside prior to fueling). One trip into the cashier for the receipt and we were on our way or ready for a meal. The fuel pricing was always the lowest (or within a few cents) so there was no real need to search around. We have used www.gasbuddy.com for many years so I know this to be accurate. Love's and Pilot were usually a few cents higher plus we had to pay 4-6 cents per gallon extra to use a CC.

There "was" a very welcoming feeling at Flying J which did not exist at the other Tstops and the FJ was always much cleaner. We even got some food discounts from time to time based upon our fuel purchases. Today I have 300 points on my FJ card and I can't find a single thing that tells we what (if anything) I can do with these!

The Cookery (Country Market?) restaurants were excellent restaurants and served large portions at reasonable prices. While we are not buffet goers, the buffet was always well stocked and utilized by a majority of the customers that we saw. The food (especially the menu items) was so much better than any of the other chains it was always a treat to have a good breakfast or lunch along our way. Part of our full-timing routine (we travel on business) is to eat every breakfast and lunch at a restaurant with very few exceptions so we have lots of dining out experience. While we used to plan our meal stops to include the Cookery we now plan our fuel stops at times that will not require a meal or where we expect to be able to find food nearby.

I don't know if your Denny's have buffets but I suspect that this will also be bad for your truckers as well. Maybe the buffet was a loss leader so you threw that out with all the rest as well.

We also rarely used the dump facilities so that was never a big issue, but when we did use them we sure were glad to have them available and while I also appreciated this service being free I am not at all offended to pay $5 for this service as long as fresh water to fill with is also available.

We have also availed ourselves of the over night facilities in the past but no longer do since we now search elsewhere for food and fuel in almost all cases. It would be silly to say I will never return as there are times where there is no other logical choice. It just pains me (and I really have no idea why) to see such a good business go down the toilets and bring themselves down to the level of the Pilots and Loves that I have by-passed for so many years. These were Truck Stops. Loud, dirty, fast food and geared to truckers.

I know it must have been expensive to buy Flying J, I just wish you weren't trying to get the pay back by raising prices and cutting services.

[TonyB]

Hey Tony - Yes, we do have an RV specific travel guide. You can download it here: http://pilotflyingj.com/rv-home under the "NOW AVAILABLE" header. It shows you all of the amenities you mentioned above. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!

Thanks for that link Lynsay, That is exactly what I was looking for.

Bounder 32W / Durango

[johnfv2]

The number 1 and 2 things that made us Flying J customers were the convenience and the pricing. We could pull into the fuel lane, swipe our FJ card, swipe our CC and fuel (only a few States with different tax rules required us to go inside prior to fueling). One trip into the cashier for the receipt and we were on our way or ready for a meal. The fuel pricing was always the lowest (or within a few cents) so there was no real need to search around. We have used www.gasbuddy.com for many years so I know this to be accurate. Love's and Pilot were usually a few cents higher plus we had to pay 4-6 cents per gallon extra to use a CC.

There "was" a very welcoming feeling at Flying J which did not exist at the other Tstops and the FJ was always much cleaner. We even got some food discounts from time to time based upon our fuel purchases. Today I have 300 points on my FJ card and I can't find a single thing that tells we what (if anything) I can do with these!

The Cookery (Country Market?) restaurants were excellent restaurants and served large portions at reasonable prices. While we are not buffet goers, the buffet was always well stocked and utilized by a majority of the customers that we saw. The food (especially the menu items) was so much better than any of the other chains it was always a treat to have a good breakfast or lunch along our way. Part of our full-timing routine (we travel on business) is to eat every breakfast and lunch at a restaurant with very few exceptions so we have lots of dining out experience. While we used to plan our meal stops to include the Cookery we now plan our fuel stops at times that will not require a meal or where we expect to be able to find food nearby.

I don't know if your Denny's have buffets but I suspect that this will also be bad for your truckers as well. Maybe the buffet was a loss leader so you threw that out with all the rest as well.

We also rarely used the dump facilities so that was never a big issue, but when we did use them we sure were glad to have them available and while I also appreciated this service being free I am not at all offended to pay $5 for this service as long as fresh water to fill with is also available.

We have also availed ourselves of the over night facilities in the past but no longer do since we now search elsewhere for food and fuel in almost all cases. It would be silly to say I will never return as there are times where there is no other logical choice. It just pains me (and I really have no idea why) to see such a good business go down the toilets and bring themselves down to the level of the Pilots and Loves that I have by-passed for so many years. These were Truck Stops. Loud, dirty, fast food and geared to truckers.

I know it must have been expensive to buy Flying J, I just wish you weren't trying to get the pay back by raising prices and cutting services.

Bill: you pretty much summed this up for all of us RVers. This is exactly how most of us would have put it. Now if they will take this to heart and truly try to work this out to get all of us back it would be nice. I'm afraid they'll handle this just like the politicians would handle it. Take the heat for a bit as they figure we'll forget about it and come back without addressing the real issues. We may come back if they really look at what they have done, and make some changes for the good. Maybe they'll see that other truck stops are welcoming our dollars,dollars that used to be theirs, not only in fuel, but in their shops, and restaurants. I'd think they would be feeling it in their pocket book by now . If not now in the near future as more and more RVers get smart. The summer crowd hasn't hit the road yet, and newbies don't quite know what is going on, but they're RVers, and they're not stupid and will figure out what has happened.

[Guest BillAdams]

Hey Tony - Yes, we do have an RV specific travel guide. You can download it here: http://pilotflyingj.com/rv-home under the "NOW AVAILABLE" header. It shows you all of the amenities you mentioned above. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!

Just a word of caution. If you follow that link you will find an option to download the RV guide. It is 37MB large and contains 64 pages. If you are using an air card or other internet service with limited monthly downloads you might want to consider waiting to download this file. It's huge!

[paulcarson]

At Pilot, I-35 South Exit 184 I was told my old card was no good and was issued a new card, and also was told the discount did not apply unless a minimum of 25 gallons was purchased. I was topping off my tank before leaving on the next leg of trip and only needed 22 gallons to full it up, so no discount. Then today at Flying J, I-20 East bound exit 3, the card worked perfectly and discount was given for 23 gallons. I know the discount is not a lot of money, but if it works at one why not all of them? Beginning to think it is more of a bother than anything else...

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

Bill, you pretty much summed this up for all of us RVers. This is exactly how most of us would have put it. Now if they will take this to heart and truly try to work this out to get all of us back it would be nice. I'm afraid they'll handle this just like the politicians would handle it. Take the heat for a bit as they figure we'll forget about it and come back without addressing the real issues. We may come back if they really look at what they have done, and make some changes for the good. Maybe they'll see that other truck stops are welcoming our dollars,dollars that used to be theirs, not only in fuel, but in their shops, and restaurants. I'd think they would be feeling it in their pocket book by now . If not now in the near future as more and more RVers get smart. The summer crowd hasn't hit the road yet, and newbies don't quite know what is going on, but they're RVers, and they're not stupid and will figure out what has happened.

Thank you all for taking my question to heart and answering it with specific examples. We may not have been a company that listened well in the past, but I can tell you that things are certainly changing. We realize the importance of giving customers what they want and need and helping solve problems. I am sorry for all of the hassle you've experienced from the changes. We've learned that many people loved Flying J and want to hear more about what made you love them. This is great feedback, and I can tell you I'm moving it right on to others here. Thank you for your patience, poise, and feedback as we are learning how to better serve you.

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

At Pilot, I-35 South Exit 184 I was told my old card was no good and was issued a new card, and also was told the discount did not apply unless a minimum of 25 gallons was purchased. I was topping off my tank before leaving on the next leg of trip and only needed 22 gallons to full it up, so no discount. Then today at Flying J, I-20 East bound exit 3, the card worked perfectly and discount was given for 23 gallons. I know the discount is not a lot of money, but if it works at one why not all of them? Beginning to think it is more of a bother than anything else...

Hi Paul - I do apologize for this, but the store was incorrect with the info they gave you. I will address with them immediately. There are no limits to discounts. You do not have to fuel 25 gallons to receive the discount. That is company-wide. So just continue as you did at the 2nd stop & you will receive your discount.

[Guest BillAdams]

So here's the big questions Linsay. You have specifically avoided the entire CC question. Discounts here and there (still wonder what my points mean), but nothing about using a CC. Are we (today!) going to be able to pull our RV into the truck lanes (I take 200 gallons so the RV pumps can take 1/2 hour to fill), swipe my FJ card, have the pumps start, pay with a CC when I get inside and get the cash price as well as my 3 cent discount? Today! At every Flying J? No hassles, no questions, no discussion?

[LynsayPilotFlyingJ]

So here's the big questions Linsay. You have specifically avoided the entire CC question. Discounts here and there (still wonder what my points mean), but nothing about using a CC. Are we (today!) going to be able to pull our RV into the truck lanes (I take 200 gallons so the RV pumps can take 1/2 hour to fill), swipe my FJ card, have the pumps start, pay with a CC when I get inside and get the cash price as well as my 3 cent discount? Today! At every Flying J? No hassles, no questions, no discussion?

Hi Bill - You put that so perfectly. I'm definitely sharing that with the group. As the system works today - if you have registered your RV card either at the register, an in-store kiosk, or at http://www.frequentfueleradvantage.com, YES - it will work that way. One important note is that you need to swipe the RV card ONLY at the pump - no CC. What the problem seems to be, is that old info is still hanging out in the stores since we've updated the program. We are furiously working on getting all that removed and only have the most recent info available. Please keep me updated on your visits so that I can correct anything. Thank you!

[paulcarson]

Hi Paul - I do apologize for this, but the store was incorrect with the info they gave you. I will address with them immediately. There are no limits to discounts. You do not have to fuel 25 gallons to receive the discount. That is company-wide. So just continue as you did at the 2nd stop & you will receive your discount.

Well, at the Flyin J I used the RV lane and there was no where on the pump to swipe the RV card, so I asked my wife to go in with the card and cash to get the pump started. Are all pumps equipped to have cards swiped or not?

[CAPKELLY]

I recently traveled from Gulf shores, Alabama back to Michigan. Stopped two times at a Flying J using the diesel truck lanes. First time it shut me off with the Great RV frequent fueler card at $250.00 When asked inside when I paid then with the Credit card the 12 y/o girl behind the counter...Said thats the Limit...End of discussion. I have since emailed Pilot and got a very nice response about they would look into it!

I sent my card number and a copy of the fuel receipt to them. End of discussion. NO further email or anything. When I asked why it shut me off there was not a reply. BUT I did get cash price with the discount for using my credit card. Who knows what Pilot /Flying J is up to.

I guess they do not want me to spend too much money at their pumps!

[Guest BillAdams]

That's the problem in a nutshell. What should be happening and what is actually happening are often diametrically opposed. Luckily, I just filled up but I have a 750 mile drive ahead of me tomorrow and Monday. That means I have to get fueled up again in the MI/IN/IL area and I will be looking very closely before I decide where to spend that money.

[mikelm48]

I guess I am missing something. I am a new RVer, but it seems that Flying J, Pilot and Loves's truck stops usually have higher prices than most of the other stations I see along the road. It seems like it would be cheaper just to buy at another location with lower prices. I'm sure that it may be easier to get in and out, but reading all of the posts makes me think its not worth it. Just my opinion. Mike

[Guest BillAdams]

You are actually correct on both counts. FJ and the others are overpriced and it's much easier to get in and out. Sometimes it's simply impossible to get into the stations with the lowest prices when you are 60+ feet long. The fuel is also much fresher at a truck stop so concerns over poor quality fuel is diminished.

It's mostly that it did not used to be this way so it's disappointing to see such an RV friendly fuel stop just turn themselves into " just another truckstop".

[rescue7]

Lynsay,

I have always used Flying J RV pumps but not Pilot. If the Pilot stores don't have RV lanes are we able to use the truck pumps? Is there a card reader on each truck pump to swipe loyalty card to get pump start or is card reader in a different location or must we go inside to get pump start.

Also question on what pump start is. Does that mean we swipe card, fill and then go in and pay or must we go in for approval.

Thanks

Don